This meant only one thing: Jose Mourinho kept his promise, thereby entering the path of open confrontation with Roman Abramovich. And if you carefully monitor the development of the situation, the Portuguese’s actions make much more sense than it might seem.
To start with, the success of Chelsea is primarily a product of two variables. Mourinho's talent, multiplied by competent management. Of course, Chelsea can handle the acquisition of any player on the planet, but the results of the team this season, as well as vivid examples of desperate motives and a spender from Inter, Real and the same Newcastle indicate that we should talk about money worth it, but not in the first place. Up to this season, the “Blue” was distinguished from other expensive toys of world football by precisely the exact differentiation of club roles: Jose Mourinho coaches, Frank Arnesen conducts breeding work, Peter Kenyon “sells” the brand, Roman Abramovich pays and enjoys playing from the box. The scheme to the delight of the fans and in spite of envious people worked. She worked until Andrei Shevchenko appeared on the team.
There is no particular need to discuss Shevchenko as a Chelsea player: experts have expressed dozens of opinions and forecasts, fans have written hundreds of forum pages. It is much more important that, despite all the pre-season curtsies by Mourinho towards the striker, the appearance of the Ukrainian in the team is still Abramovich’s initiative. He called “his great friend” to London for three years and finally got his way. The reaction of the coach is also completely natural. He got a world-class striker at his disposal, even if he himself didn’t “order” him - there was nothing to be upset about.
However, Andrei at Chelsea went wrong. Again, just the facts. Shevchenko is a great player? Without a doubt. How many goals did you score in the Premier League? Only three. Did Mourinho give him a chance? Gave, and not one. As you can see, the decision to put a Ukrainian on a bench, right or wrong, is logical. The Chelsea coach is responsible for the result. In front of Roman Arkadievich himself. Therefore, it cannot give the thirty-million striker a jump for a whole season: the back of the Manchester United flashes ahead within six points, and among the main goals is the Champions League win.
In such a tournament position, Chelsea approached the January transfer window. The situation is not perfect, but far from desperate. In any case, it’s much better than personnel: injuries of Cech, Cudicini and Terry, permanent mistakes of Bularuz, the plain game of Shevchenko ... It became problematic to scrape together the players not only for two, but also for one team. The state for Chelsea of the sample of the last two seasons is just wild. Obviously, team reinforcement is necessary. Londoners have never been tight with money. Mourinho did not make a secret of the transfer priorities: the team needs a forward and a strong central defender to solve the tasks. Everything seemed simple, like in a football manager. But here the fun began ...
Mourinho is furious with the club’s attempts to remove Assistant Steve Clark from his position and replace him with a Russian-speaking coach from Israel, who should help Shevchenko regain shape ... At a recent strategic meeting, Abramovich and his advisers pointed out to Mourinho that the costs of previous transfer periods had no effect, due to than they declared the impossibility of acquiring a new striker and advised to use Shevchenko correctly ... At the coach’s offer, exchange with extra charge Sean Wright-Phillips for Jermain Defoe club hands The veto was levied ... The lease exchange of the young winger for Milon Baroš was also blocked, despite the complete lack of costs ... Realizing that the management of the team would not pay an eight-figure sum for the main transfer target, the defender of MS, Miku Richards, Mourinho proposed a number of cheaper alternatives. But negotiations with US player Oguchi Onuevu (£ 1 million) and Deportivo defender Jorge Andrade (rent) were interrupted. Instead, the coach was asked to include Frank Arnesen's favorite, PSA Brazilian Alex, who owns Chelsea. Naturally, Mourinho is against imposing players on him ...
Alas, the previous paragraph is not a compilation of the headlines of the noisy British tabloids. These are facts from the reputable The Guardian. In their light, Jose Mourinho had several behaviors: from complete submission to going into the shadows and humble expectations of his fate. That was the case with Ranieri, who, with a sad look, continued to train the team, already knowing the name of his successor.
But the Portuguese is distinguished by a very important masculine quality - consistency. Mourinho can be idolized or vehemently hated, found eccentric or simply arrogant, but he shouldn’t take logic and sequence in his actions. That's why he removed Shevchenko from the squad, playing as a pro-season defender ahead of schedule. Abramovich now has no choice but to reveal the cards, either by announcing imminent reshuffles in the club, or by expressing full confidence in the current coach.
Mourinho meanwhile, exponentially (4-0) defeated the Wigan by the forces of those who were available. And she’s certainly not going to celebrate the upcoming 44th anniversary with unemployment - the Madrid Real is ready to play ahead of schedule.